"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippines 4:8

IS JESUS CHRIST REALLY GOD?

[Part 1] There’s some confusion, well actually a lot regarding the subject of Jesus Christ’s deity and rightly so, without the mention of names there’s cults and false doctrine being taught and it’s our responsibility as Christian’s to study the scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15) to see if these things be true. Let’s not forget our noble brethren of Berea.

Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

The question remains did Jesus plainly say “I am God”? Bare along as this is not easily explainable. I’ll reference scriptures which you can study for yourselves. As with anything that pertains to God’s word I would highly advise to look in the Bible for yourself and come to a conclusion on your own. We all will stand before God and will have to give an account, no one else will be able to speak for you before God.

The four Gospels

The gospel according to John targets the deity of Jesus Christ while the other 3 gospels focus upon the genealogy of Jesus, and fulfillment of OT prophecies written to a Jewish audience (Matthew), testimonies and miracles, written for a Gentile audience (Mark) and fact finding and Jesus as the great physician or healer written by the beloved physician (Luke). We all are familiar with the opening verse in the gospel according to John.

John 1:1–3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made”

Jesus Christ is the Word of God (one of His many names) reading the verse above we see that “the Word” (Jesus Christ) has always existed. God (the Father) is not a created God meaning He was once created and had a starting period, no! God is the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end, therefore, God’s Word (Jesus) has always existed with the Father.

Another question is was Jesus begotten? Yes, He’s the only begotten Son of God. The word begotten is not speaking of the Lord Jesus being created as some may try to argue, nothing of the sort, when speaking of the eternal Son of God the word begotten speaks of His position. He’s above all and comes before all having the preeminence (John 1:18, John 3:31, Colossians 1:17-18, Hebrews 1:1-10, Psalms 45:6-7).

The words of the Lord in John chapter 8:58 could not be clearer: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” Note that it proves conclusively that our Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son. Repeatedly in this chapter He has been speaking of God as “My Father.” Now this climactic statement of the chapter shows that this is eternally so. If there was a time when He came into being, He would have said, “Before Abraham was, I was.” The verbs translated “was” and “am” are not the same, and they show that the meaning of the statement is “Before Abraham came to be, I exist.” His use of “I am,” which would make the statement ungrammatical under normal usage, shows that He never came into being. Moreover, His use of “I am” immediately reminds us that this is what God called Himself when speaking to Moses at the burning bush (Exo 3:14). It is highly expressive of His eternity and His deity. – McAllister, David T&T

Begotten

John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Genesis 1:3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

Notice God said “Let there be light” Jesus Christ is also known as the light of the world. He came unto his own, and his own received him not (John 1:11).

John 3:19 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

Jesus Christ has many names and titles in which He goes by some of the more recognizable ones are The Son of God, Son of man, The only begotten Son of the Father, Emmanuel “God with us”, Lord etc… But there are scriptures in the Old Testament which also names our Lord Jesus. Here’s an Old Testament scripture speaking about Jesus and His names.

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Notice the above verse is talking about Jesus “a child is born…a son is given” as we continue it states of Him being “The everlasting Father”. This speaks of the deity of Jesus, He’s not just a prophet as some would claim, Jesus shares the same nature as the Father. The Godhead consists of God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God and the Holy Ghost. This explains verses like (John 5:19, John 7:16–17 ). And with this piece of scripture below showing all three in one place at the same time.

Matthew 3:16-17 “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

After reading the above portion there’s no denying God has three distinct persons (Father, Son, Holy Ghost) and all three consist of the Godhead and together they are one God.

The writer of the book of Hebrews makes a reference from one of the Psalms speaking of the Lord Jesus and His deity. While reading bear in mind that this is God the Father speaking to the Son of God. The verses say and I quote “But unto the Son [he saith], Thy, throne, of God, is for ever and ever” (Hebrews 1:8 – 1:9, Psalms 45:6).

Thanks for reading I pray that this helped you in understanding more about who God is. In [part 2] I’ll further show whom Jesus is helping you to examine for yourselves and draw your own conclusions as to the question, is Jesus Christ really God?